Multiple film re-winder



New. 7, 1939. L sERRURlER 2,178,673

MULTIPLE FILM RE WINDER Filed NOV. 10, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l 13 If 10 J6 [W012 $er-r-ur/ef v 6. as

Nev. 7, 1939. SERRURIER 2.178.673

I MULTIPLE FILM RE-WINDER ,7"

Filed Nov. 10, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A aw H I: 70 J W 72 r V H 35 38 a4 4 i 34 3 1 WWW I I $1 4! i I c 1/7 33 W4 Serrurve Patented Nov. 7, 1939 iii iiTii". STATES a ters! caries 5 Claims.

This invention relates to Winding devices for transferring motion picture film from one reel to another, and has to do more specifically with multiple rewinders capable of simultaneously winding film onto a plurality of reels.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, rugged and reliable multiple re-winder.

Another object is to provide a practicable mechanism for a multiple re-winder of the differential type, whereby any reel may be positively rotated when desired.

Another object is to provide a simple re-winder structure whereby the reels may rotate without rotation of the driving handle and to provide a braking mechanism for frictionally retarding the rotation of the reels.

Still another object is to provide a multiple re-winder in which each reel is supported on anindepenclent shaft with all of the reels spaced longitudinally from each other so that if desired they can re-wind a plurality of films over synchronizing sprockets positioned coaxially on a common shaft.

The manner in which the foregoing objects are achieved, together with other minor objects and specific features of the invention, will be explained by describing in detail a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings.

In. the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of a -reel film re-winder in accordance with the invention.

' Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, taken in the plane II-II of-Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line IIIIII of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken in the plane IV-IV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail vertical section taken approximately in the plane VV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of a 2-reel re-winder in accordance with the invention.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the re-winder therein therein depicted comprises a housing having a horizontal portion i, the under side of which is shaped to constitute a base adapted to be secured to any convenient supporting surface, and two vertical sections 2 and 3, respectively, which rise from opposite ends of the horizontal portion I. For convenience, the horizontal portion of the housing is split into two sections along I the line 4, the two sections being secured together by screws, the Verticalsection 2 being split into two sections along the line 5 and the vertical portion 3 being-split into two sections along the line B. The entire housing, therefore, consists of a casing element 7 constituting one wall of the vertical portion 3, a housing section 8 constituting the main portion of the horizontal section I and the inner half of the vertical portion 3, a housing section if constituting one wall section of the horizontal portion I and the inner Wall of the vertical portion 2, and a housing section 9 constituting the outer half of the vertical portion 2.

Projecting through the housing section 9 of the vertical portion 2 are two reel-supporting shafts l6 and ii, respectively, the shaft It extending outwardly from a boss 52 and the housing element 9 and shaft H extending out directly from the housing wall and being positioned above the shaft i0, whereby the two shafts are displaced longitudinally from each other and can support two reels in overlapping relation. Two such reels, [3 and M respectively, are shown positioned on the shaft in Fig. 2. Each of the shafts i and ii is provided on its outer end with a lock l5 of conventional form for securing the reels in place.

On the other end of the machine there are also provided two vertically spaced reel-supporting shafts I6 and Hi, the lower shaft i6 extending directly out from the wall surface of the housing member I? and the shaft l8 positioned thereabove extending directly out from the surface of the housing section 8. The surfaces of the housing sections H and 8, from which the shafts l6 and i8 project, are so disposed that the shaft it is spaced longitudinally from the shaft II and the shaft 58 is spaced longitudinally from the shaft it so that, as shown in Fig. 2, a reel l9, mounted. on the shaft It and a reel 26 mounted on the shaft 58, can overlap each other and overlap the reels l3 and Hi. All four reels are displaced longitudinally from each other by substantially equal distances. At the sametime each reel is supported on a relatively short shaft extending only a short distance from the housing so that the shafts are mechanically strong.

Each shaft I ii, i i, it and i3 is provided with a key member 2! adapted to engage a slot in a standard reel to force the reel to rotate with the shaft. Each shaft is also provided with a hub member 22 rotatable therewith for spacing the reels from the housing and providing an abutting hub for each reel to prevent undesired longitudinal movement of the reels along the shafts.

The machine is provided with a crank 23 mounted on the side of the housing section 8 substantially half-way intermediate the vertical sections 2 and 3, and the housing contains a mechanism for rotating the reel shafts in response to rotation of the crank 23. The mechanism within the housing for effecting this rotation, will now be described:

Referring first to Fig. 4, the crank 23 is provided with an inwardly extending annular flange 24 having a cyindrical exterior bearing surface, which bearing surface is rotatably fitted within a bushing 25 secured to the housing section B for free rotation. The hub 24, in addition to being rotatable within the bushing 25, is also slidable longitudinally therewithin. To prevent escape of the hub 24 from bushing 25, the bushing is provided at its outer end with a flange 26 and a screw '27 is mounted in an arm 28 on the crank 23 in such manner as to cause the end of the screw to contact the flange 25 and thereby limit outward movement of the hub 24 with respect to the bushing 25. However, the crank may be completely removed at any time by first removing the screw 21.

The crankarm 23 is drilled at its center and has secured therewithin a bushing 29, the inner end of which has a plurality of axially extending teeth or dogs 36 which are adapted to interengage with similar dogs 3| on the end of a juxtaposed bushing 32 on the end of the shaft 33, which is rotatably mounted in the walls of the housing sections 8 and H, respectively.

The shaft 33 may therefore be rotated by pressing the crankarm 23 inwardly to engage the dogs with the dogs 3i and rotating the crank. If desired, the shaft 33 may be initially brought up to speed and then the crankarm disengaged by pulling it outwardly to free the dogs 30 and 3|, whereupon the shaft 33 can continue to rotate without rotation of the crankarm 23.

The shaft 33 is coupled to the four reel-supporting shafts Hi, I I, I6 and I8 through differential mechanisms whereby equal torque is applied to each of the reel-supporting shafts in response to rotation of shaft 33. Thus shaft 33 has keyed thereto a disc 34 upon which there is rotatably mounted a bevel gear35, the latter being rotatecl about an axis radial with respect to the shaft 33. The bevel gear 35, which is revolved in response to rotation of the shaft 33, meshes with two bevel gears 36 and 37, respectively, which are loosely mounted for free rotation about the shaft 33. The gear 36 is rigidly connected to a spur gear 3' which meshes with an idler gear 38, rotating the latter. The idler gear 38 meshes with and in turn rotates a gear (Fig. 3) keyed to a shaft 4|.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the shaft 4| has keyed thereto a carrier member 42 rotatably supporting a bevel gear 43 for free rotation about an axis extending radially from the shaft 4|, the gear 43 being constrained to revolve with the shaft 4| in response to rotation of the gear 40. The bevel gear 43 in turn meshes with a pair of beveled gears 44 and 45, respectively, which are loosely mounted for free rotation on the shaft 4| and have attached thereto spur gears 46 and 41, respectively. The spur gear 4? meshes with a spur gear 48 keyed to the reel-supporting shaft Hz for rotating the latter. The spur gear 45 meshes with an idler gear 86 which in turn meshes with an idler gear 49 which in turn meshes with a gear 50 on the reel-supporting shaft It for driving the latter.

It will be apparent that in the structure described, when the shaft 4| is rotated, the gear 43 will apply equal torques to the gears 44 and 45.

The torque applied togear 45 will be transmitted through gear 47 and gear 43 to the reel-supporting shaft l5 and the torque applied to gear 44 will be applied through gears 46, 85, 49 and 50 to the reel-supporting shaft l8.

Referring again to Fig. 4, the bevel gear 3'! which meshes with the gear 35 on the disc 34 is rigidly attached to a spur gear 52 which in turn meshes with an idler gear 53, the latter in turn meshing with a spur gear 54 keyed to a shaft 55. The shaft 55 in turn carries a gear assembly identical with that carried by shaft 4|, previously described, and shaft 55 applies torque to the reelsupporting shafts l6 and If in exactly the same manner as the shaft 4| applies torque to the reelsupporting shafts l6 and I8. Since the mechanism is identical it has not been separately illustrated.

It will be observed that the mechanism described comprises three differential units, one consisting of the gears 35, 36 and 3'! which apply equal torque from the main drive shaft 33 to the gears 3H and 52. The gear 3'|| in turn applies torque to the shaft 4| which in turn applies different torque through thediiferential mechanism comprising gears 43, 44 and 45 to reel-supporting shafts l6 and I8. The gear 52 applies its torque to theshaft 55 and the latter applies equal torque to the reel-supporting shafts l5 and H. There: fore the three differential units constitute equalizing means for app-lying torque to all four of the reel-supporting shafts from the main drive shaft 33.

This equal torque is desirable when all four,

reel-supporting shafts are being employed to rotate the different reels since each reel can then run at a speed necessary to take up the film that is being supplied thereto.

It is desirable on occasion, however, to employ the machine described with less than four reels. With the normal adjustment, however, if there is no load on any one of the reel-supporting shafts, that shaft alone will rotate and the rest will remain stationary. To make possible the rotation of less than four reels, I therefore provide a looking mechanism for each of the differential units in the machine. When these locking mechanisms are all actuated, all four of the reel-supporting shafts are constrained to rotate in unison.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 5, the locking mechanism for the differential unit associated with the shaft 33, comprises a pair of idler gears and 6| slidably integrally formed on a common hub 62 mounted on a shaft 63 which is supported in the housing below the spur gears 3l| and 52. The gears 60 and 6| are spaced from each other the same distance as the spur gears 3H and 52 are spaced and the shaft 63 is so spaced from the shaft 33 that when the gears 60 and 6| are juxtaposed to the gears 3H and 52 they mesh with the latter and force them to rotate in unison. However, by sliding the hub 62 longitudinally on its shaft 53 the gears 55 and 85 can be disengaged from the gears 3H and 52. To shift the hub member 62 the latter is provided with an annular groove 64 therein which is engaged by a crankpin 65 eccentrically mounted on the end of shaft 66, which shaft extends longitudinally through the horizontal portion of the housing and through the end wall thereof, at which point it is provided with a handle 6?. Suitable stops are provided to limit oscillation of the handle 61 to a value not exceeding 180. When the handle 61 is in one extreme position, the crankpin 55 shifts'the gears 60 and BI into engagement with the gears 31! and 52 and when the handle El is in its other extreme position the gears 6d and bl are disengaged from the gears 3H and 52.

A mechanism exactly similar to that described is associated with the gears 46 and ti, this mechanism being actuated by a handle $8 at the opposite end of the machine from the handle 6's.

The differential unit driven by the shaft 55 (which has not been disclosed in the drawings) is likewise provided with a similar lock, the handle of which is indicated at 69 in Fig. 2.

The machine described may, if desired, be employed with only two reels and differential action be obtained between those two reels. Thus the two reels may be mounted upon the reel-supporting shafts if! and H, or it and iii, and the handle 6? actuated to lock the gears 37! and 52 against relative rotation. Each pair of reelsupporting shafts 9.-il and lt-ltl will be positively rotated although equal torques will be ap plied to the two shafts in each pair and one shaft in each pair can go faster than the other, if necessary. The machine may also be employed with two reels only by mounting one reel on either the shaft it or the shaft ii, mounting the other reel either on shaft or shaft 58, and actuating the handles 68 and 68 to lock the differential unit interconnecting shafts it and H and the differential unit interconnecting shafts l6 and i8. This applies equal torque to the unit consisting of the two shafts it and i l and to the unit consisting of the two shafts i6 and 58 but prevents free rotation of the shaft on which no reels are mounted.

The machine described may also be employed with three reels and differential action be obtained between all three reels. Thus the reels may be mounted on shafts ill, I! and either it or it or on it and 58 and either to or H and the diiferential associated with the end of the ma chine on which only one reel is mounted, locked. Assume that reels are mounted on shafts Iii, H and i6 and that the differential associated with shafts it and i8 is locked. Equal torques will then be applied through the main differential associated with the crankarm 23 through the two ends of the machine and equal torque will be distributed to the two shafts it and H by the differential unit associated therewith. the difierential associated with shafts i6 and i8 is locked so that the empty shaft it cannot spin and permit the shaft 98 to remain stationary, but instead shaft is must rotate with shaft It.

In practice, it is usual to employ two multiple re-winders when synchronizing a plurality of film s, the films being unwound from reels mounted on one reel winder, passed through a synchronizing device, and rewound on reels mounted on the other multiple re-winder. Unclesuch conditions power is applied to only one of the rewinders, namely that one on which the takeup reels are mounted, and it is desirable to frictionally retard the rotation of the reels on the feed re-winder to prevent the latter from spinning and allowing the film to become slack when the rate at which the films are being rewound is reduced. To control the speed of the reels of the re-winder when they are being used as feed reels instead of takeup reels, I provide a friction brake. Referring to Fig. 3, this brake comprises a brakeshoe it pivotally supported at its upper end by a pivot screw H to the casing and extending downwardly past the periphery of the disc 3 l which is keyed to the shaft 33. The portion of the lever H3 juxtaposed to the However,

disc 34 is recessed to define an arcuate surface which is preferably lined with a special friction material 12, such as brake lining, so that when the lever is pressed into engagement with the periphery of the disc 34, it presents a smooth frictional resistance to rotation of the latter. The lower end of thelever it extends down below the disc 36, and is connected to a rod 14 which extends longitudinally through the housing and out of the end wall thereof through a suitable aperture. Exterior of the end wall of the housing there is mounted a brake lever 75 pivotally supported on a pin "i6 and having a shoulder 11 bearing against the end of the rod it. By depressing the brake lever 75 the rod M is moved to the to carry the lever against the disc 34. A helical compression spring i8 is pressed between the right side of the lower end of lever ill and a shoulder is in the housing to normally maintain the frictional lining '32 out of engagement with the disc 3 3.

It is desirable, when using the re-winder, to feed film from reels thereon to disconnect the crank 23 by pulling it outwardly to disengage the dogs at from the dogs 3!.

Although the mechanism described with reference to Figs. 1, Z, 3, 4 and 5 has to do with a 4-reel re-winder, it is obvious that the essential princip involved may be employed to produce a or 2-reel re-winder, Such a re-Winder is shown in end elevation in Fig. 6, in which parts corresponding to those in Figs. 1 and 2 bear the same reference numerals primed. In effect, such a re-winder is equivalent to one end portion of the -reel re-winder shown in the remaining figures. Thus the mechanism for driving the two reel-supporting shafts of the machine shown in Fig. 6, is identical with the mechanism for driving the two reel-supporting shafts it and 113, as shown in Fig. 2, except that the shaft in the system of Fig. 6 corresponding to shaft ii in Fig. 2, is driven directly by the crank 23' instead of through the gears it, 38 and 3H from the shaft 33. Thus the crank 23" shown in Fig. 6 is coupled to the shaft therewithin corresponding to shaft ii in Fig. 2 in exactly the same manner as the crank 23 is coupled to the shaft 33 in Fig. 4. The single differential unit in the model shown in Fig. 6 may be equipped with a disc and a braking mechanism corresponding exactly to the disc 3:3 and the brake lever l6 shown in Figs. 3 and i, except that they would be associated with that shaft of Fig. 6 which corresponds to shaft 4| in Figs. 1 to 5.

As will be readily comprehended by those skilled in the art, the invention is not limited to a 4-reel re-winder as distinct from a re-winder for handling a larger number of reels, although ordinarily no more than four reels are rewound at a time. Thus a machine capable of rewinding eight reels could be constructed by employing two 4- reel units such as those disclosed with an extra differential mechanism for applying equal torque to each i-reel unit. By interlocking some of the reels on one or both units, such a machine could be adapted to handle five, six or seven reels, if desired,

The invention has been explained by describing a certain particular embodiment thereof in detail. It is to be understood, however, that various changes other than those mentioned may be made without departing from the invention, and the latter is to be limited only as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A film re-winder for simultaneously Winding a plurality of films through paths spaced laterally from each other comprising a housing and a plurality of parallel reel-supporting shafts supported thereon, said shafts extending through one wall of said housing at spaced points thereon all of said shafts being unsupported exterior of said wall, and said housing wall being irregularly shaped whereby reels positioned on said different reel-shafts are longitudinally spaced from each other and at the same time are positioned close to said housing Wall, and means including mechanism within said housing for rotating said shafts.

2. A multiple film re-winder comprising a housing including a horizontal section and a pair of vertical sections rising therefrom at opposite ends, a pair of vertically spaced apart reel-supporting shafts in each vertical section of said housing, a first, second, and a third coaxial gear in the lower part of each vertical section, and differential means for applying equal torque to the second and third gears in response to rotation of the first gear, gear means for coupling said second gear to one of said reel-supporting shafts, gear means for coupling said third gear to the other reel-supporting shaft, a drive shaft in said horizontal section, and differential means coupling said drive shaft to said first gears in each of said vertical sections.

3. A film re-Winder as described in claim 5, with brake means for retarding said drive shaft.

4. A film re-winder as described in claim 5, With brake means for retarding said drive shaft comprising a drum on said drive shaft, a shoe hinged adjacent the top of said horizontal section extending downwardly past said drum, a brake lever at one end of said housing, and means coupling said brake shoe to said lever.

5. A film re-winder as described in claim 5, with means for independently locking each of said differential units for positive rotation in 20 synchronism with the elements driven thereby.

IWAN SERRURIER. 

